Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
• From the Cast Court entryway, head down the long hallway, past Asian art in Rooms
47g, 47f, 47e, etc. Pass the shop, then turn right into Room 42, which contains art of the
Islamic Middle East.
Islamic Art
While owing much to Islam as a religion, Islamic art also reflected a sophisticated secular
culture. Many Islamic artists expressed themselves with beautiful but functional objects.
In the center of the room is the 630-square-foot Ardabil Carpet (1539-1540). Its silk-
thread underpinnings are topped by a dense wool pile made of 304 knots per square inch.
(Carpet connoisseurs will nod approvingly at this impressively high KPI number.) Woven
on a huge standing loom, it likely took a dozen workers years to make. In the center of the
design is a yellow medallion ringed with ovals, supporting two hanging lamps. If you sat
on the carpet near the smaller of the two lamps, you'd have the illusion of a symmetrical
pattern. The carpet is illuminated on the hour and half-hour.
Also in the room are more carpets, ceramics (mostly blue-and-white or red-and-
white), and glazed tile—all covered top to bottom in similarly complex patterns. The in-
tricate interweaving, repetition, and unending lines suggest the complex, infinite nature of
God (Allah).
